


Moving In

by jeel



Category: Arctic Monkeys
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-04 00:31:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2902811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeel/pseuds/jeel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follows Alex and his girlfriend as they prepare to have their first child together</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

You wobbled away from the moving truck on your driveway and made your way to the door of your new house. It was a beautiful house, kind of old. Exactly what you liked, all that modern stuff really wasn’t your thing. Or Alex’s for that matter.

You stepped into the hallway, careful not to drop the box you were carrying. ‘ _BEDROOM,’_ it read in Alex’s blocked writing. God, it was heavy. If Alex found out you were carrying it he wouldn’t be happy. You weren’t exactly in the state to carry stuff around, but didn’t want Alex to move all the boxes himself until Matt came over. As you put one foot on the first step of your staircase, you heard the front door close with a small click.

“Hey! What do we think we’re doing?”

“I can carry this one, Al. I promise,” you tried to save yourself. But at the look in his eyes you could see he wasn’t gonna let you. He quickly put the box he was holding –‘ _ALEX’S RECORDS’_ , of course… – down and took over your box.

“The heavy bedroom box?” He asked, surprise in his voice. “What’d you think? That you were gonna get this one upstairs?!”

“I uhm… I just didn’t want you to carry everything…”

“The only thin’ a pregnant women should carry is a baby,” he said, while poking his finger at your belly. “Two more months and you can carry whatever you want. But not now.”

Two more months… and then the baby would be here. Finally. Before you were pregnant, you and Alex had tried for months to conceive, without success. The continued disappointment began to affect your relationship and you decided to stop trying. To just enjoy each other and try for it again in half a year or so. So the both of you booked a vacation. Three months of travelling through Europe.

One night while in Madrid, almost at the end of your three month trip, you had been experiencing unexplainable stomach aces. A worried Alex had called a doctor, who advised you to visit the nearest hospital. Not once did you suspect a pregnancy, but an echo confirmed the news: Two months pregnant, everything was well.

You could remember the moment as if it was yesterday. The tears. The joy. The relief. Phone calls to your parents. Alex’s endless chanting of ‘I’m gonna be a dad!’ in his Yorkshire accent, echoing through the Spanish hospital at 4 am, after which it quickly turned into a early morning photo shoot. You were with Alex Turner after all and some Spanish nurses had recognized him. Being the darling that he is – and in a complete state of euphoria – he went to take photos with all of them. Meanwhile you filled out some paperwork and looked up the earliest flight home. You left Spain that same day.

“…okay?” You were snapped out of your flashback.

“I’m sorry, what?”

He rolled his eyes with a chuckle. “Wait for me downstairs while I put this box away, okay?” He started to make his way up the stairs.

“Fine… I guess _we_ …” you drew out the word ‘we’. “will just wait for you here,” you grinned, while pointing from your belly to yourself. A loud laugh erupted from him. You turned around towards the living room.

“Oh! You can go sit down on the couch! Matt and I brought it in for you yesterday,” he yelled from upstairs.

Finally something more comfortable than plastic chairs or stools! They were fine for Matt and Al to sit on when they took breaks from working on the house, but they aren’t ideal when you’re seven months pregnant. Luckily you were still pretty mobile. Didn’t have to sit or lay down all the time. But you had to admit your ankles were getting more and more swollen. You were more wobbling around than walking and as much as you hated to admit it: Alex was right. There was no way you could’ve gotten that box upstairs on your own.

You opened the door from the hallway to your living room. There was the couch, with a lower table across from it, where the television would be on later. Alex’s record player would be next to it, with both of your record collections. Your living room was divided into two sections: one where you could sit during the day or evening and one where, much to your surprise, the dining table was already set up.

In the corner of your eye you spotted Alex’s acoustic guitar. It was dangerously propped up against the small table, seconds from falling over. You wobbled over to it as lifted it up before it would fall. You made your way to the couch and carefully lay the guitar flat on it.

With a sigh you let yourself fall next to it. Suddenly you realized how tired you really were. You leaned your head back onto the couch and closed your eyes. After a few minutes, before almost falling asleep, you heard stumbling upstairs.

“Oh, no, no, no. Fuck!” You heard from upstairs, followed by a loud groan and things falling on the floor.

“Are you doing okay up there, Turner?” You laughed. “Do we need to rescue you?”

“I’m fine, love. Stay there, I’ll be with you in a minute.”

More profanities followed before you heard him stumbling down the stairs. He stepped into your living room, carefully closing the door behind him.

“Bloody closet parts…” he mumbled, before turning to face you. His hair looked a mess, but you liked it that way. Messy and not in place. He smiled and looked from your belly to your face and back. You had to admit he looked a bit worried.

“Just give it to me,” you said dramatically while sarcastically throwing your hands up in the air. “I’m getting fat, aren’t I?”

He laughed as he seated himself next to you. You snuggled up against him, your head on his shoulder.

“Please, you’re the most beautiful pregnant woman I’ve ever seen,” he whispered. He put his hand on your belly, his pinky ring resting on your belly button that was really poking out since a few weeks. Then he started to rub in slow circles.

You looked up at him with a smile and kissed his temple. “You’re sweet. Are you okay? You looked worried just now.”

He shrugged. “I’m fine, I’spose… it’s just… I feel like…” He struggled to find the correct words. He was making all kinds of hand gestures, trying to find a way to say what he wanted to say.

“Don’t you get scared?” He finally asked with a sigh. He looked you in the eye, his big brown eyes filled with fear.

“Hey, come on now. Where is this coming from?” Was he serious? He could offer this baby so much love and joy, you were shocked he even doubted himself like this.

“Babies need so much care. Sometimes I’m afraid that… that I can’t do it.” He looked away, his messy hair falling in his eyes. You moved a little so that you could cup his face. You brushed his hair aside, making him look you in the eye again.

“Listen to me, Alexander. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you will make a great father, okay?” He nodded.

“And yes, it’s scary,” you admitted. “And to be honest, I am scared too. But we can do this together, I’m sure of that.”

He leaned forward and softly kissed you on the lips. “Thank you,” he almost whispered as he ran his thumb over your cheek. He sounded relieved. You sighed and leaned into his touch.

“And for the record, you will make such an amazing mother,” he said. You smiled.

For a moment you two sat there, saying nothing, just looking at each other, Alex’s eyes occasionally flicking to your belly and back.

“We can do this,” he finally said, nodding his head. He sounded confident now.

“Exactly.” You pressed your lips to his again.

Suddenly you heard someone clearing their throat. “Am I interrupting a tender moment between mommy and daddy?”

The both of you turned your head. Matt stood in the doorway, a smirk on his lips.

“Ready to start painting the baby room, daddy?” He said in a childlike voice. You couldn’t help but laugh as Alex turned a little red and jumped up from the couch.

“Let’s go mate,” he said as he stumbled and almost tripped over his own feet. This only made you and Matt laugh harder. You stood up too and walked after them.

“I wanna help too,” you said.

Alex squinted his eyes at you. “Are you bloody serious?”

“I am _bloody_ serious,” you said, mocking his accent.

He threw his hands up in the air. “Alright then. But no paint buckets for you! You know I don’t want you carrying—“

“I know, I know. I won’t carry anything but this baby.”


	2. Chapter 2

Alex and Matt had finished painting the baby room – a light green - a week ago. Alex didn’t want you to do much work, so you mainly served as the comic relief, commenting on the two men throughout the process – and, to be fair, you also served them an occasional beer. In the meantime you planned your part of painting the baby room. You wanted to paint something special on the wall.

Ever since you were young you painted and you’d gotten quite good at it. Not the real artistic stuff though. It was more cartoonish. One time you drew Alex a birthday card, which he loved. So being a fan of your work, he was excited about your plans as well. The both of you had agreed to put it above the dresser. It was a nice space and the prefect size; not too little, but also not too big.

The idea had been in your mind ever since the two of you bought the house. You knew exactly what it was going to be: animals. Elephants, to be specific. Two bigger ones, representing Alex and yourself and a baby elephant to represent your baby.

You started this week and after four days it was almost done. It just needed some more shadow and a little detail. You stepped away from the wall, admiring it from afar. You had to admit it looked really nice. The sight of the three elephants together as a family made your think about your own. A wave of warmth and happiness spilled over you as you imagined Alex and yourself as a family. Automatically your hands went up to your belly, folding them and laying them on top of it.

“It’s picture perfect, love.” You looked over your shoulder to see Alex standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorpost. He then walked in and stood next to you.

“Almost,” you corrected him. “It’s _almost_ picture perfect.”

“Perfectionist,” he murmured. He put his hand on top of yours. You looked up at him, not sure if he did it on purpose or subconsciously. You decided it was the latter, as he was still focussed on the painting.

“You should feel here,” you said, as you lifted his hand and planted it lower so he could feel the baby moving around.

Alex still lit up every time he felt the baby move. And every time it was as precious to see him react as the time he felt the first few kicks. You remember when you felt it for the first time yourself. You ran from the kitchen in your old flat and had grabbed his hand, pressing it to your stomach, just as you had now. The way his expression went from total confusion to complete happiness was unexplainably cute.

“Baby Turner has been moving _a lot_ the past few days...”

And to be honest, baby Turner also kept you up _a lot_ due to all this moving around. During the day there usually wasn’t a lot of movement, but as soon as you were ready to go to sleep, the baby wouldn’t let you. It was definitely a night person, definitely a child of its father…

“Baby Turner,” he repeated with a smirk. “I like that one.”

You laughed. “Sounds nice, huh?”

He nodded as his eyes went back to the elephants.

“When’s Matt coming over so you two can put the furniture in here?” You asked him. All the furniture for the baby room was still downstairs. All the baby stuff, in fact. Not being able to resist you had already bought a lot of clothes.

Alex however had only contributed one piece of clothing. He was particularly proud of it too, since he decided on the design himself. It was a onesie with the “AM” oscilloscope design on it, exactly like on the album cover. You remember the day he brought it home with him. He had it wrapped in gift paper and had tied a messy bow around it. Excited as a child he watched how you unwrapped it.

You smiled at the memory and then heard Alex reply to you.

“He was gonna come over… tomorrow morning?” He murmured. He squinted his eyes slightly while he was trying to remember.

“Yes, but early morning though, so just stay in bed when I go.”

“Of course not,” you protested. “Like I’m gonna be able to sleep when you and Matt are dragging furniture around here… And, besides that, I think this little one” – you pointed at your belly – “is gonna keep me up anyway.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Alright then.”

“Good news is: We’ll have this room finished tomorrow!” You got excited thinking about having the baby room finished.

“You hear that, baby Turner?” Alex said enthusiastically to your belly, as if he was speaking to the baby. “We’re ready to have you from tomorrow on.”

“Just don’t come yet!” You quickly added with a laugh.

“Right…” Alex replied. “Little too soon.”

“I guess I should start cleaning up then,” you said, bending over and collecting a few paintbrushes from the floor that were lying near your feet. Damn... that wasn’t as easy as you thought it was. Alex chuckled, clearly noticing your struggle.

“Pregnant women problems,” he laughed, as he started to pick up tubes of paint and brushes too.

Suddenly he stood still, looking down at a few brushes that were dipped in paint. He smirked a bit and looked over from you, back to the brushes.

“Can I do something?” He asked, grabbing a thin paintbrush that was dipped in yellow paint.

“As long as you don’t come near my elephants with that paintbrush,” You warned him, pointing your finger at him. He quickly shook his head.

“Then I guess you can.”

Much to your surprise he approached you, gently grabbing one side of your head while bringing the paintbrush to the other side. You jumped a little as the cold paint hit your cheek.

“Stand still!” He ordered with a laugh.

You could feel the paintbrush sweep over your cheek. Alex’s mini painting was finished in a second. “Done,” he concluded.

You walked towards the little mirror that hung in the room and studied your cheek.

“A sun?” You asked surprised, looking at the yellow little circle with small stripes around it.

He walked over to you and looked to you via the mirror.

“Cos yer me sunshine,” he said proudly, marking his accent on purpose. You giggled and turned around to give him a quick kiss on the lips, smearing some of the paint on his cheek as well.

“Hold on,” he said, putting one finger up.

He got on one knee and grabbed the hem of your t-shirt, pulling it up to your chest. You wanted to make a sarcastic comment about his attempt at undressing you, until you realized what he was planning on doing.

He looked adorable, his hair falling in his eyes and the tip of tongue slightly poked out in concentration. He painted a big star, your belly button being the centre of it. He then proceeded to paint little starts around the big star.

“My sun and stars,” he whispered when he was done. He looked up at you with a beaming smile.

Your eyes started to water. You couldn’t believe how lucky you were to have a guy like Alex. To have him be the father of your baby, to spend your life with him and be a family. Before you knew it a tear rolled down your cheek. Quickly you wiped it away, hoping Alex hadn’t seen it. But in the way he quickly stood up and looked at you with concern, you knew he had.

“Don’t cry now,” he said, wiping another tear from your cheek. He tilted his head to the side and pouted his lip. “What’s wrong?”

You pulled on the collar of his shirt and kissed him again. His free hand reached behind your head, pulling your head closer, careful not to destroy his painting. After a while he slowly pulled his head back and pushed his forehead to yours, your noses pressing together as well.

“It’s nothing… I just… I love you so much,” you whispered, drawing a little heart on his cheek with the second-hand paint he got from you.

“And I you, love,” he said, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “And I you.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Your hair looks _fine_. I don’t want to be late!” You yelled towards the bathroom. You had overslept and the first thing Alex thought of was doing his hair…. It was a nervous habit, you knew that, but it could be an annoying one in times like these. You quickly threw a dress over your head (or as you liked to call it: a tent. It was ridiculously wide) and stepped into some black leggings and flats.

The reason why you had overslept was that the house was finally done and you and Alex had held a small housewarming party last night. You both wanted to get it over with before the baby arrived, which would be in just a month. It had gotten quite late and in your tired state you had forgotten to set the alarm for the doctor’s appointment this morning.

The doctor’s appointment… Another ultrasound planned. Ultrasounds appointments were always a stressful yet happy occasion. The stressful part mainly came from the eternal scare that Alex and yourself had about pregnancies. Countless times you went there and were disappointed about not being pregnant.

“Are you ready, love?” Your head snapped towards the door, where Alex stood, ready to go. His hair was a mess. Guess he eventually hadn’t bothered putting gel in at all _._

Good, you thought. You loved it this way.

“Yeah,” you replied, looking around the room. “Just gotta get—

“Looking for this one?” He held your bag up. “No worries, I already packed everything for you.”

You walked towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you…” You bit your lip and looked at the ground. “And sorry that I was grumpy,” you murmured.

He laughed and pulled you in for a hug, his head resting on yours. “It’s okay.” He let you go and grabbed your hand. “Let’s go, shall we?”

You nodded and wobbled towards the stairs. Carefully you stepped down, still tightly holding on to Alex’s hand, in case you slipped. Successfully you reached the hallway and not long after that Alex locked the door and helped you in the car.

Luckily the car ride wasn’t that long and before you knew it you stepped into the waiting space. It wasn’t busy, only another pregnant woman with what you assumed were her husband and three of their children. Two of the children were running after each other, while a smaller child held on tightly to it’s fathers leg.

“Can you imagine us like that in a few years?” Alex said with a grin.

“Slow down there, Turner. Let’s have this one first, alright?” You laughed while carefully stroking the fabric of your tent over your belly.

You barely sat when a voice called out from across the room.

“Turner family?” A woman asked as she peeked around the door.

“’Turner family’, I like that,” Alex whispered in your ear. You giggled as he yelled “here!” and helped you up.

You walked through the door with her and studied her face. This wasn’t your usual doctor.

“I’m doctor Ella Johnson, doctor Jackson couldn’t make it today,” she said, as if she’d read your mind. Alex and you introduced yourselves too.

“Please sit.”

You sat down on the bed and Alex grabbed a stool to sit next to you on your left, as usual.

“I’m gonna ask you a few questions, then we’re gonna have a look at your baby,” doctor Johnson said, as she looked in what you assumed was your dossier.

“How are you doing?”

“Bit tired. Walking isn’t the easiest thing. Sometimes I have stomach pains…”

She wrote down your answers in quick motions.

“Good, this is normal,” she assured you. You couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

“Have you experienced any unusual swelling or headaches?”

“No.”

“Any contractions yet?”

“Luckily not,” you said with a laugh, quickly looking at Alex and back.

She smiled. “Good. Do you have any other concerns?”

You looked over at Alex again. “I don’t think so.” It came out more like a question.

“Maybe the back thing,” he helped you along.

“Right… Ah, no. It’s probably fine. Besides, it’s not bothering me that much,” you lied.

“You’re a really bad liar, babe…” Alex rolled his eyes and looked at doctor Johnson. “She’s been having a lot of back pains. I’ve been rubbing her back every night.” He sounded actually concerned.

“There’s a lot of new weight from the baby that your body has to adjust to. This usually leads to back pains,” she explained. “So, no worries, this is normal too and will go away.” She proceeded to take notes and then put the dossier away.

You shot Alex a glance. “See? Told you so.” He stuck his tongue out at you and you giggled.

“I’d like to have a look at the baby now,” doctor Johnson said, as she gestured towards your dress.

Right. You wiggled around a little and pulled it up to your chest. Then you proceeded to push the hem of your leggings down your belly as low as possible. It was always a strange sight. Some pink stretch marks ran up the sides and your belly button poked out. As usual, the strange feeling quickly made room for a warm and happy feeling.

Doctor Johnson felt around and occasionally pushed a bit. After that she grabbed the tube of gel. Doctor Jackson always made jokes about the gel, since Alex usually had gel in his hair. (“This is some different gel though, Alex!”) Bet he didn’t mind doctor Jackson wasn’t around today.

“As you know, this can be a little cold,” doctor Johnson warned, before putting the gel on. You still shivered every time they did this and this time wasn’t any different. In an impulse you reached out and grabbed Alex’s hand tightly. He seemed surprised but then softly started to rub your hand with his thumb.

“It’ll be okay baby,” the whispered before pressing a kiss on your hand.

You gave him a faint smile. You had to see it first to relax again.

Doctor Johnson rolled the device over the gel and your eyes were focussed on the little screen next to the bed. Your baby appeared on it, moving around a little. Your heart jumped. Movement! You relaxed your hand, releasing Alex from your firm grip. After listening to the baby’s heartbeat – something especially Alex loved – and some explaining about the baby’s position, doctor Jackson confirmed the baby was fine and healthy.

“We could take a look at your baby’s gender now,” she suggested. You felt Alex squeeze your hand lightly. It was unintentional, you found out, as he immediately relaxed. When both Alex and yourself stayed quiet, doctor Johnson turned red. “I mean, if you want to, of course.”

You slowly turned your head to Alex, to see what he thought of this. But you knew what he thought of this. When you discussed finding out the gender and you immediately told him you liked it to be a surprise. Alex felt the same way and you agreed to leave it a surprise. But you still couldn’t shake the feeling that he might have lied that day…

Alex stared straight ahead, frowning. He was probably also thinking of your earlier conversation about the subject. You tried to read his face, wishing you could read his thoughts, but he seemed so lost in them (as usual) that you wondered if he even knew them himself. Despite feeling frustrated about this, you couldn’t help but think that it was really cute. He thought things through, one of the many amazing things about him. He suddenly blinked a few times, as if he woke up from his trance and turned to face you. He opened his mouth to say something, but you were ahead of him.

“Let’s do it,” you said. What could the harm in finding out right now instead of in a few weeks? You bit your lip in anticipation of what he would say.

His mouth fell open. “What?!”

“I said: ‘Let’s do it’.” You couldn’t help but laugh at his confusion.

He grabbed your left hand with both his hands now. “We don’t have to. We can keep it a surprise like we discussed.”

“But you want to know, don’t you?”

He looked at the ground and smirked. “I figured you knew that.”

“Only because you’re a really bad liar, babe.” You laughed.

You nodded at doctor Johnson, who was laughing as well. “We’d like to find out.”

Alex was still tightly holding on to your hand. To be honest, he might be grabbing on more to you than you were to him. You chuckled a little to yourself at this thought, which led to a confused smirk from Alex.

Doctor Johnson brought the device back to your stomach and pushed and rolled. Both of your heads snapped back to the little screen.

“Let’s have a look...” doctor Johnson mumbled to herself.

She kept rolling lower and pushing harder. “Looks like you have a bit of a stubborn baby.”

“Wonder where it got that,” Alex said, raising his eyebrow at you.

“What?” You asked, pointing your finger at yourself. “Me?”

“I can carry this one, Al. I promise,” he said, mockingly trying to imitate your voice.

“You’re _still_ going on about that bedroom box?”

“I told you that I didn’t want you carrying anything heavy and you…”

“Looks like we’ve got a clear view.”

Suddenly you were both aware of doctor Johnson’s presence when she interrupted you this way. A little flustered your eyes were glued to the screen again.

“Congratulations, looks like you’re going to be welcoming a little girl soon,” she said. She pointed at the little screen and started explaining stuff.

You were hoping Alex was paying attention, because her words went in one ear and out the other for you. A baby girl, you thought to yourself. All kinds of images flashed through your mind. A little baby girl, walking around with her in the bright green stroller you bought, Alex playing guitar for her, everything became so real all of a sudden. Your vision went blurry as you felt the tears forming in your eyes.

“Me girls…” Alex murmured as he looked from you to the little screen.

The look on his face was almost indescribable. It was the face of someone who was beyond happiness. I guess this is what it looks like when they say someone is glowing. Hand on the side of his neck, slowly moving to his mouth to cover it. There were tears in his eyes too and it seemed as if he couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.

Doctor Johnson soon cleaned the gel off of your belly and you got dressed properly. She led you to the desk in the hallway to make a new appointment. After wishing the two of you and the baby the best, she excused herself to get the next patient.

While walking outside, you realized you both still hadn’t spoken a word to each other, lost in your own thoughts. You stopped Alex and stood still in front him, looking up at him in anticipation. He looked back at you with a big smile.

“A BABY GIRL!” He then yelled, all excitement bursting out of him. You both laughed and screamed it out loud to each other for a few times, which led to a few weird looks from the other people in the parking lot. He grabbed you by the waist and lifted you up, kissing you while he spun the two of you around a few times. When he put you down again he put his arm around you and kissed your hair. Then you proceeded to make your way back to the car.

“We’re gonna be a family soon,” you said. “You, me and our baby girl.”

“I can’t wait.”


	4. Chapter 4

You woke up from the sun pricking in your eyes. You rubbed your eyes and stretched out. The bed was empty, Alex was already gone. Your hand bumped against something that was lying in his place. Confused you propped yourself up on one elbow to look at it. The book Alex was reading. It had a post-it on it: _“One more and we’ll have the last two weeks to ourselves. Can’t wait! Call me if you need me. Love you both! xx”_

You smiled. Alex and the band still had a few small performances and some interviews planned at various radio stations. All of them near you, so he could come home as soon as you need him. This evening was the last one.

With only two weeks until the baby arrived, Alex was already super paranoid about it all. Definitely more so than you. He already packed your bag of stuff you had to take to the hospital. He checked it every day and you suspected he took something out every morning, only to put it back in the same day. It was cute. One time you jokingly asked if it wasn’t his get-away-bag. He didn’t seem happy about it…

Despite teasing him with it, you were happy he took this all so seriously and prepared properly. Not that you had expected any different from him, of course. He was really ready for this. And so were you. While this pregnancy had been a lovely experience for you with relatively no problems whatsoever, you would be happy when it was all done. The last few weeks had been exhausting. You really couldn’t walk properly anymore and wobbled around even more than usual. So, you spent most of your days on the couch, reading books and drinking tea.

And this day was no different. After dinner alone, you washed the clothes from the ‘getaway bag’ one last time. You seated yourself on the couch and started to fold the clothes, using your belly as a table. Suddenly you heard the front door open and your heart jumped. Alex.

The door swung open. The guitar case entered first, the rock star second.

“I’m home!” He took his sunglasses off while walking towards you, putting his guitar case down along the way. He leaned forward, pressed his lips to yours. He grabbed your neck, pulling you closer. You broke the kiss, stroking his cheek with your thumb.

“I’m so happy you’re back,” you admitted.

“Trust me, I’m happy to be back. How are my girls?” He asked before leaning back and taking off his leather jacket.

“Good,” you said with a shrug and a faint smile, still folding. “We missed you, but other than that we managed.”

He smirked and turned around to put his jacket away, hanging it in the hallway.

“Your note was cute,” you yelled at him.

He entered the room again with a beaming smile. “I was hoping you’d like it!”

He looked around, eyes flickering from the dining table to the kitchen and back to you. “Would you like something to eat?”

You shook your head. “No, I’m good. Thank you th—” you cut yourself off yawning. “I was thinking of going to bed, actually. But I wanted to wait for you.” You put the last onesie in the bag and tried to get up. Didn’t go smoothly….

Alex laughed and walked up to you, grabbing your arm to help you keep a balance. “Alright then. I must admit I agree, you seem tired. So, lemme help you upstairs, mommy,” he said with a wink.

You giggled. “That’d be nice, thank you daddy.”

Going upstairs went quicker than expected and before you knew it Alex was practically tucking you into bed, murmuring it was “good practice”.

You rolled your eyes with a laugh. “You did well.”

“Good night my love, I’ll be with you shortly,” he assured you, before pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Don’t wait up for me this time.”

You nodded with a grin and closed your eyes when he closed the door.

When you opened them again, the room was dark. You must’ve fallen asleep right after Alex helped you to get to bed. Alex was lying next to you, both of you on your side. He had wrapped himself around you in his sleep and had entwined his fingers with yours, resting both your hands on your belly. You blinked a few times and looked over at your alarm clock. 2.07 AM. Too early to get up. You didn’t feel like sleeping, but decided to try anyway. In two weeks you would regret not catching as much sleep as possible, especially when you’re feeding a baby in the middle of the night...

You closed your eyes again and meanwhile you reached down to scratch an itch on your inner thigh. You brushed the fabric of the cotton shorts you were wearing and suddenly you froze. It felt wet. It felt as if all the muscles in your body tensed up. _What if I’m bleeding?_ You immediately wondered. You cursed yourself for looking this up on the internet, but had to know after all the troubles you had to get pregnant in the first place: Miscarriage in the last trimester. And it was something that happened; pregnant women who still miscarried in the last moments of their pregnancy. Tears sprung in your eyes at the prospect of this happening to you as well. You didn’t want to look, but knew you had too.

You blinked away the tears and took a deep breath. “Alex?” You whispered, while laying as still as possible.

“Thought you were awake. Is the baby keeping you up?” He asked in a sleepy whisper. “I will rub your belly again if you want to, remember how that worked last time?”

“Could you turn the bed light on for me, please?” You asked, trying not to sound worried and ignoring his questions.

Without a verbal response he carefully he let go of your hand as you felt him move and turn around. His hand reached for the bed light. He knocked something over along the way – probably his alarm clock – as you heard a banging sound followed by a soft “shite” from Alex. After a small click the room suddenly lit up and you saw Alex’s face; hair a mess, one eye closed, looking sleepy but concerned. If you weren’t so terrified you might’ve laughed.

“Everythin’ okay?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.

You didn’t answer him again, still unsure if you were okay or not. You didn’t want to alarm him… yet? You rolled on your back and slowly pushed the covers away. You were terrified to find a puddle of blood there. You looked down and then sighed in relief. No blood, just your wet shorts and a wet bed sheet. A whole new fear filled your body now as you tensed up again at the realization of what this meant.

“Darlin’, you just tell me what’s wrong.” He said, his voice almost cracking. He pulled the covers away completely. His eyes quickly went from the bed sheet up to you. He looked… as if he felt sorry for you?

“Oh… it’s okay. I read in our baby book that this happens sometimes,” he said, as he quickly got out of bed.

 _Sometimes!?_ You thought to yourself _. This is supposed to happen!_

“Al, where are you going?” You asked in confusion when he opened the door. He walked out and walked right back in.

“I’m gonna get a washcloth for you.” He sounded nervous as he opened your closet. “Some new underwear and shorts…” you head him mumble.

“Al…”

“It’s okay, really. I read this is really common.” He walked out again, holding the washcloth in his hand. You heard him turn the knob on the sink in your bathroom. What was he up to?

“It’s just because the baby is pushing onto your bladder!” He yelled over the stream of water.

“On my bladder?” You repeated to yourself out loud. What did any of this have to do with..? Oh god. He didn’t think… He did, didn’t he?

“Alex, can you come back here? I don’t think—” You began.

“You need my help?” He cut you off when he walked back in with a wet washcloth.

“Al, if you could just listen for a seco—”

He chuckled. “You couldn’t even tie your own shoe laces two days ago! You’re set to give birth in two weeks, let me take care of ya.” He sat down on your side of the bed and put his free hand under you knee, lifting your leg up.

“Alexander!” You screamed. His head snapped up as he let your leg drop back on the bed.

“I’m just trying to help you…” He said, turning his head away from you. “I know I can’t help much but—”

“Honey, I didn’t pee myself, okay,” you quickly said. His cheeks turned red as he looked back at you. Slight embarrassment and a lot of confusion were in his eyes until he suddenly seemed to get what really happened.

“Wait… does this mean…” unable to finish his sentence he stared at you. His mouth hung slightly open and his eyes were bigger than you’d ever seen them.

“Alex, I think my water broke…”


	5. Chapter 5

“We have to call doctor Jackson!” Alex practically yelled. “I think I need to take you to the hospital.”

“But I didn’t have any contractions yet…” you murmured.

“Normally women start having contractions before their water breaks, but in some cases, the water breaks first. I believe labour usually follows soon,” Alex mumbled. “I read that in our baby book,” he quickly added.

“Labour usually follows soon…” You repeated with a small voice. This wasn’t what you expected. In your mind you still had two weeks to prepare, but it was happening. Right now. You wanted to move, but couldn’t. You looked at Alex, helpless.

“Hey…” He got on one knee and sat next to you. “Look at me.”

He grabbed your face with both hands. “Listen to me, here’s what we’re gonna do: First I’m gonna help you up, so you can put on your sweatpants, it’s cold outside. Then I’ll help you downstairs. Then I’ll call doctor Jackson immediately and ask her if we should leave already. If so, I have the get-away-bag ready and I’ll help you get in the car. Does that sound like a plan?”

You nodded lightly. “I’m scared,” you whispered.

“I know, baby.” He pressed a kiss to your nose. “But you’re gonna be fine, I promise.”

You nodded again and sat up, swinging your legs over the side of the bed. He grabbed your arm and helped you up from the bed. More fluid dripped onto the floor. You looked up at Alex.

“We’ll take care of it later,” he assured. You pulled the wet shorts down your legs and grabbed the sweatpants Alex handed to you. After a bit of a struggle you got them on. Alex gave you a little push to your back, hinting you to start walking.

You walked down the stairs like you always did. Alex backwards, holding your hands, going step for step. Suddenly you felt a sharp pain in your stomach. Your eyes closed shut and in an impulse your hand shot from Alex’s hand to his shoulder, squeezing it hard. After a minute or two the pain slowly drifted away. You took a few deep breaths and opened your eyes, meeting Alex’s concerned gaze.

“Remember what I said about contractions? Yeah, never mind,” you panted.

“I thought so,” he said. He rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb. “Ready to go on?”

You made your way down the stairs, quicker than before. Alex sat you down on one of the steps and grabbed his phone, quickly dialling doctor Jackson’s number. You could barely hear what he was saying, the intense pain being unlike anything you’ve ever felt before. Two more contractions passed, before Alex hung up the phone.

“She told me to get there as soon as we can,” he said.

A feeling of fear mixed with a certain excitement washed over you while Alex ran up the stairs. Within minutes he came stumbling back down. He changed into jeans and the get-away-bag hung around his shoulder. He grabbed your coat from the railing, passed you your flats and quickly stepped into his own shoes. After quickly unlocking the door you were greeted by the cold air.

You wobbled from your driveway to your car, leaning against it as another contraction took over. Alex came up behind you, rubbing your back until it was over. He sat you down on the passenger seat, threw the bag in the back and ran around the car to take place behind the steering wheel.

The advantage of getting into labour in the middle of the night was that the road was almost completely clear. You reached the hospital in no time and Alex sprinted towards the desk to talk to the lady sitting behind it. You tried to stand up straight, but the pain wasn’t allowing you. Contractions were following each other more closely now and were far more intense. Sharp pains starting from the top of your belly, shooting all the way down. You leaned over puffing and saw Alex approaching in the corner of your eye.

“They have a room for you at the maternity department,” he informed you. “Doctor Jackson is gonna come over there, and she’s gonna see how far you’re dilated, if at all—” He cut himself off upon seeing in how much pain you were.

He grabbed your hand. “You’re doing so well, love. Come on.”

When you finally made your way to your room, you raised an eyebrow at the name tag on the door.

“Mrs. Turner?”

Alex laughed. “It’s a sign we should finally start looking into that wedding, after all these years.”

You would’ve laughed, if the sharp pain in your lower region would’ve allowed it. You gasped, squeezing Alex’s hand. He led you in the room, put the get-away-bag down and helped you change into the hospital gown.

You had hoped that lying down on the bed would make you feel better, but not much changed. You rolled to your side, facing Alex who was sitting next to you, just as he always did at the ultrasound appointments. He reached his hand out, which you happily grabbed onto. You practically cut off his blood circulation when you squeezed his hand after another contraction hit. You groaned out in pain.

“In another setting I might’ve liked these sounds,” he whispered.

“Alexander, you’re unbelievable, I swear to god,” you sneered back, followed by short puffs.

“You’re right, I’m sorry…” he admitted, scratching the back of his head. “Can I do anything to help?”

“Could you please rub my back, like you did at the car?”

You let go of his hand and he made his way to the other side of the bed, seating himself behind you. His fingers started to rub circles on your lower back. You sighed as it relieved some of the pain, but you didn’t have long to enjoy it. Doctor Jackson came waking in, greeting you both.

She asked a few questions and asked you to lie on your back, so she could feel how far you were dilated. The feeling was unpleasant to say the least, but luckily she had good news. Eight centimetres, only two left to go.

It was naive to think that would go fast. Three exhausting, painful hours later, doctor Jackson finally informed you that you were ten centimetres dilated and that you could start pushing soon. One nurse grabbed one of your feet, pressing her palm against the bottom, holding your heel with the other.

“Mr. Turner, would you like to help out?” Alex jumped up, his hand slipping from yours. She instructed Alex, who grabbed your other foot, doing the same thing as she was doing.

“We’re gonna push now, okay?” Doctor Jackson asked. “On the count of three you’re gonna push for ten seconds, then you can catch your breath and we’ll push again.”

“I don’t think I can do this,” you said, followed by panicked panting as another contraction washed over you. Your eyes shot from doctor Jackson to Alex. He held your gaze and nodded in encouragement. “You can,” he assured you.

“You’re gonna have too, girl,” doctor Jackson said. “Are you ready?”

You quickly nodded.

“Alright, let’s have this baby. 1, 2, 3, push!”

* * *

 _Olivia Alexis Turner_ was born one hour and twenty seven minutes later. You fell back on the bed, breathing heavily, screams and cries from Olivia filling the room. _She’s making sounds, she’s breathing!_

Your felt your legs being let down and being put back on the bed. Shortly after they placed Olivia on your chest, she seemed to relax because she immediately stopped screaming. You finally got a good look at her and she was absolutely beautiful. Her big brown eyes were looking at you in surprise.

“Hi! Hi, baby,” was all you could manage to say between sobs. You tore your look away from your daughter to look at her father. The same set of brown eyes looked back at you. They were filled with tears. He looked back to Olivia and seemed speechless, softly running his hand over the strains of dark hair on her head.

Everything suddenly hit you at once. After all those horrible, disappointing moments where the two of you found you weren’t pregnant, your baby was finally here. She was then lifted from your chest by a nurse, who took her away. You looked at her, confused.

“No worries, Mrs. Turner, we’re just gonna run some tests on her.”

You could feel your whole body tense up. “What? Why?”

“These are just the usual ones,” doctor Jackson assured you. You relaxed again _. Thank god._

“Try to get a bit of rest,” she said, after which she left the room.

As soon as the door closed Alex showered your face with wet kissed. Smearing his and your tears all over your faces. He quickly brushed his hands over his face, whipping the tears away, after which he did the same to your face.

“I’m so proud of you,” he kept chanting, sobbing occasionally. “You did so well.”

Tears kept running down your cheeks. From happiness, from pain, from exhaustion. You were so tired. Maybe you should get some sleep.

“Alex?” You whispered, while moving aside. “Will you lay here with me?”

He smiled and carefully took the place next to you. You rested your head on his chest, while he softly stroked your hair, pressing kisses on it every now and then. You breathed in his familiar sent and soon dozed off to sleep.

You woke up after a while, by soft whispers of your name and a soft shake of your shoulders. “Wake up, love. They’re gonna bring her back in in a few minutes.”

You moved a little and sat up, after which a sharp pain coursed through your body. You gasped.

“Are you alright?” Alex asked concerned.

“Yeah, I’m just… I’m a little sore,” you trailed off.

Suddenly the door swung open and the nurse came walking in, a little bundle in her arms. Alex practically jumped up and nervously ran his hand through his hair. You chuckled. He was acting nervous, much like any first time father.

“Shall I give her to you?” The nurse asked him. He shot you a glance, after which you gave him an encouraging nod. He nodded at the nurse and she put Olivia in his arms.

“Just make sure her head is supported,” she warned Alex, who immediately made sure this was the case.

“If you need me, don’t hesitate to press the red button by the bed.” With that, she left as fast as she came in.

Alex sat down in the seat next to the bed, so you could have a clear view on your daughter as well.

“Hi there, my little Olive,” he cooed. He brought his finger to her face and tickled her cheek. A tiny grin formed on her face, after which she yawned widely.

“Did you see that?” He asked with a beaming smile. “That was the cutest thing. She’s the cutest thing…”

He looked at her for a little while. “She’s got me eyes.”

You smiled. “I noticed earlier.”

“She’s got your nose though,” he said, looking from you to Olivia and back. “Can you believe we’re parents? We’re gonna be responsible for this beautiful, tiny human…”

“I know… It’s insane isn’t it?”

“Do you remember when we just moved in and we were so scared of being parents?” He suddenly asked.

You nodded.

“We were fools to think that… We’re gonna do so well, I’m sure of it,” he said confidently.

His eyes went back to his daughter. Soon he was all caught up trying to make Olivia smile. She occasionally grabbed into his finger and seemed amazed when she found his pinky ring. He then started making funny faces at her because “I read that babies will attempt to imitate your facial expressions straight after birth!”

It was such a joyful sight. He was right, together you were gonna make this work.


	6. Chapter 6

Taking Olivia home was like a dream. Walking out of the hospital with a baby of your own was something you could’ve only dreamed of and now the moment was here. Alex walked a little ahead of you. Olivia was already in her car seat, which he held in one hand. She was facing you.

You studied the two. Father and daughter. Olivia lay back and looked up at her father, not being able to tear her gaze from his face. Sometimes he’d look down at her for a short while and one time he poked his tongue out, which resulted in a giggle from you. He looked over his shoulder with a beaming smile. When he looked back ahead he halted and turned around, approaching you.

“Love, there’s a man with a photo camera there,” he explained while he handed Olivia to you, she was asleep. “I think he snapped some photos, so I’m gonna go up to him for a bit. I don’t want Olivia or you ending up in the papers or something.”

You nodded in response. “If you give me the car keys I’ll get us settled in the car.”

He placed the keys in your hand and pressed a short kiss to your forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

He turned around and walked away. “If you want a photo of me, fine, but leave my family alone,” you heard him mumble. You couldn’t help but smile. _My family._ Within a few meters you’d reached the car and pressed the little button on the key that unlocked the doors. The little beep was loud and sharp and Olivia’s eyes snapped open.

“I’m sorry, Olive,” you apologized.

You opened the back door where the attachment piece for the car seat was already placed – to be honest, Alex placed it first chance he got when you found out you were having a baby…–

“Okay, click it on,” you mumbled to yourself.

After a few attempts a small click let you know it was on. Olivia was shaken in the process and her big brown eyes looked up at you. She pouted her lips.

"Don't pull an Alex on me right now," you warned her with a laugh.

Little did you know she planned something else entirely. Her bottom lip started to tremble, her eyes closed shut and she let out a loud cry. Followed by another. And another. Tears were streaming down her little face. It was almost impressive how this much sound came out of that little body.

“Shhh, baby,” you tried to soothe her by offering your finger to suck on.

That didn’t work. She continued to scream and cry. Red hot you fumbled with the seat belt to secure her in the car.

“Pull that through here… Dammit…”

It was stuck under the seat. You yanked on it, but it didn’t move one bit. Another pull. It shot free and you bumped your head on the doorframe of the car. Tears of pain sprung in your eyes, which you quickly blinked away. Meanwhile, Olivia had started to cry even harder than before.

“I know, I know,” you mumbled. “We’ll leave in a bit, daddy will be right back.”

You stuck your head out of the car, but Alex was nowhere to be seen. You bent over Olivia again, trying to close the seat belt. You brought the seat belt to the lock it was supposed to go in, but it couldn’t reach it. Too short.

“What the…” you cut yourself off quickly.

Desperately you let the seat belt fall down, while Olivia still screamed and cried. Hot tears filled your eyes and you started to sob as well, due to your frustration.

“Got him to delete the photos he took of you and Olive, we’re safe.”

“Great, thank you babe,” you tried to make your voice sound steady and quickly whipped your hands over your face. Then you quickly spun around and were greeted by Alex’s satisfied look. It quickly turned concerned when he saw your puffy face.

“Are you crying? What happened?” He asked. He placed one hand on your arm and with the other he wiped over your cheeks.

“Seat belt’s too short… She’s crying… Can’t get her to stop…” You sobbed and hiccupped.

He immediately stuck his head in the car.

“Hey, don’t cry now, love,” he whispered at Olivia. He whipped the tears from her face and she immediately stopped crying. He then grabbed the seat belt and as if it was nothing he clicked it closed.

“There, all done,” he concluded.

“I’m so useless…” You breathed. “I can’t even get my own daughter in the car safely without help and I can’t even get her to stop crying. I have no idea what I’m even doing. And now I’m crying about it, like an idiot. Look at me I’m—”

Alex wrapped you up in his arms to silence you and stroked your hair. “Need I remind you you gave birth three days ago?” He spoke. “You’re tired, your hormones are acting up…”

You vigorously nodded, your head still resting on his shoulder.

“And you’re not useless, love,” he said, cupping your face, making you look at him. “We both have no idea what we’re doing, but at least we’re in it together to find out how to do this. There will be days where I won’t know what to do and then you’ll come to my rescue like some Super Mother.”

You laughed through your tears. “Thank you.”

He kissed your nose in response. “Shall we go?”

“Yes, please.”

“Alright then.”

You took a seat next to Olivia to keep an eye on her and Alex went around the car to take a seat behind the steering wheel.

“Oh, and I have a little surprise for you when we get home,” he said mysteriously.

* * *

Alex pulled up on your driveway. “I’ll get her,” you immediately shouted when he got out of the car.

You stepped out of the car and tried to get Olivia’s seat belt to open. With a small click it opened almost immediately. Then you pressed little button on the side of the car seat to release it from its lock. Olivia had the tiniest grin on her face.

“Yes, mommy did it,” you whispered at her before smooching her cheek.

You picked her up out of the car and turned to face the house. Your jaw dropped. Alex stood in your garden, proudly pointing at the sign that stood there.

It was a wooden sign, with three elephants, kind of like the ones you put in the baby room. The smallest one wore a t-shirt that said: “Olivia Alexis.”

“Who..? When..?” You stuttered.

“I ordered it, but I made Matt and Miles put it up while we were at the hospital,” he explained, smiling from ear to ear.

“It’s beautiful,” you gasped. You bowed down and took Olivia from the car seat, hoisting her up in your arms. You placed her head against your chest, face towards the sign. You walked a little closer to the sign.

“Look! Look what daddy made us,” you said, pointing at the three elephants.

The little girl smiled and then sleepily closed her eyes.

You looked over at Alex. “Come here,” you said softly, but loud enough for him to hear. He stepped out of the garden and walked up to you.

“You’re wonderful. I love it,” you said. You held onto Olivia tightly and pressed a kiss to his lips. He smiled against your lips and then pulled back. He looked from you to Olivia and back to you. He then bent down and picked up the car seat from behind you.

He nodded towards the sleeping baby on your chest. “Ready to move the last thing in?”


End file.
